TimeLeaf vs Deputy: Which Scheduling Tool Fits a 25-Person Team?

If you're comparing TimeLeaf and Deputy, you're probably a team that rosters people, tracks their hours and handles time off, and you want one tool to do it. Deputy is a large, established workforce platform with native mobile apps. TimeLeaf is a newer tool that lives inside Slack, Microsoft Teams and Google Chat. They overlap, but they are built for different teams.

Prices as published on Deputy on 2026-10-16. Vendors change pricing, so check their pages (linked at the bottom) before you decide.

TimeLeaf vs Deputy at a glance

• Deputy prices per user per month: Lite $5, Core $6.50, Pro $9 (USD, excluding taxes, billed upfront or in monthly installments). Every manager and admin counts as a user, and there is a minimum monthly spend of USD $30 per invoice on monthly plans.
• TimeLeaf is flat-tier with 10 employees included: Starter $50/month, Professional $90, Business $120, then $5, $9 or $12 per extra employee. At 25 staff that is $125, $225 and $300 a month ($5.00, $9.00 and $12.00 per person).
• Free trial: TimeLeaf has a 14-day free trial with no credit card. Deputy offers a free trial; its pricing page does not state the length.

What 25 people cost

Using the published headline prices and no add-ons:

At 25 people TimeLeaf is not the cheaper option. TimeLeaf Professional ($225) costs the same as Deputy Pro and more than Deputy Core ($162.50), and Business is $300. What you pay for is different: chat-native leave and approvals in Slack, Teams and Google Chat, working-time rules, and contracts with e-signature. If you don't need those, Deputy costs less. The plans are not like for like. Deputy's per-user price includes native apps, messaging and (on Core and up) demand forecasting and wage budgets. TimeLeaf's Starter ($125) is leave and approvals only; shift scheduling, timesheets, GPS clock-in, contracts and QuickBooks/Xero start at Professional, and auto-roster and shift takeover are on Business. Compare the plan that matches what you need, not the cheapest number.

Where TimeLeaf fits better

• It works inside the chat tools your team already uses. Leave requests, approvals and shift notifications run in Slack, Microsoft Teams and Google Chat, so managers approve from a message instead of opening another app.
• UK and EU working-time rules, enforced per policy. TimeLeaf checks the 48-hour average (with worker opt-outs), daily maximum, daily and weekly rest, night work and young-worker limits when you roster someone, and tells the manager which rule would be broken. These rules need Professional or above; your admin sets the figures, and the presets are a starting point. It checks and enforces what you configure; it does not replace advice from your adviser. Deputy also lists labour-law compliance on all plans; check its coverage for UK/EU rules.
• Leave, time and shifts in one place. Accruals, carryover, timesheets, overtime and banked overtime, shift scheduling, shift swaps between employees, employee availability, contracts with e-signature, and a QuickBooks or Xero sync.
• A predictable bill. A fixed base covers 10 employees, then a flat rate per extra employee, with no per-manager surcharge.

Where Deputy is the better choice

Be honest with yourself about these.

• Native mobile apps. Deputy has apps on the App Store and Google Play. TimeLeaf is a web app with no store app, though it installs to the phone's home screen and queues clock-in taps when there is no signal.
• Shared clock-in devices. Deputy supports tablet and kiosk clocking, and biometric (face unlock) clocking on Core and up. TimeLeaf has no kiosk or shared tablet clock.
• Labour cost on the roster. Deputy lists wage and labour budgets, labour optimisation and demand forecasting on Core and up. TimeLeaf does not show labour cost on the roster.
• Team messaging and news feed. Deputy includes messaging and a news feed. TimeLeaf has no team chat or announcements.
• Payroll. Deputy sells a payroll add-on (US, through Paycor). TimeLeaf does not process payroll; it exports to QuickBooks and Xero and produces Gusto and ADP files.
• Scale and hierarchy. Deputy's Pro plan adds location hierarchies, custom access levels and a sandbox. If you run many sites, that matters.

Which one should you pick?

Pick Deputy if you roster shift workers who need an app on their phone or a clock on a shared tablet, you want labour budgets and forecasting, or you want payroll in the same tool.

Pick TimeLeaf if your people already live in Slack, Teams or Google Chat, you operate under UK or EU working-time rules, and you want leave, time and rosters at a price you can predict.

If you are not sure, book a walkthrough and we'll tell you honestly whether TimeLeaf fits, or start a 14-day free trial with no credit card. For the leave side, see our TimeLeaf vs Vacation Tracker comparison.

Sources

Prices and features for Deputy come from Deputy's own site, read on 2026-10-16:

• Deputy pricing